The Wolf Medallion
by Adin the Conqueror
Summary: Harry and Malfoy get lost in the Forbidden Forest during their detention...and both get bitten by a werewolf. One twist can change destinies. NO SLASH.
1. The Forest's Detour

Small piece of clarification: There are times when I'll use things from the movies instead of the books, because they're more convenient.

VVVVVVVV

"If I didn't know any better, _Draco_, I'd say you were scared."

"_Scared_, Potter?" Malfoy scoffed.

A twig snapped. And neither of us had stepped on one. Both of us stopped and looked at each other.

"Did you hear that?" Malfoy asked, his face half-illuminated by the lantern he held in his right hand. His slicked-back hair glimmered by the candlelight. After a long moment of no more twigs, we started walking again. Malfoy took the lead with the lamp.

The enormous trees of the Forbidden Forest towered above like gnarled pillars holding up the night, each ten feet thick or more. The canopy blotted out the stars, leaving Malfoy's lantern the only light save a light splashing of moonlight on the other side of the leaves. The only sound was our footsteps on the dirt. I stepped faster and caught up to Malfoy. Even though standing next to him made my skin crawl, it was better than being in the pitch dark.

It was far too quiet. Nothing was moving except us. No skitterings from the tree branches, no crackling leaves but the ones under our shoes. It struck me right then that there was something strange about that. Was it _us_ that was making everything go quiet as we went by? Maybe.

Or maybe it was whatever had snapped that twig.

The pattern of the trees changed ahead. Malfoy kept on walking, so I didn't falter. I just wanted to make sure I stayed in the little circle of light that the lamp cast. Fang, Hagrid's dog, whined at my side. I shushed him.

Detention. With Malfoy. And one hundred fifty points lost from Gryffindor. That's what we got for our meddling with Hagrid's dragon. Now for our punishment we were wandering around the forbidden forest looking for a dying Unicorn. I wouldn't say anything about it with Malfoy in earshot, but I was a little scared. I mean, we were first years. Hagrid would have kept us safe, sure. But…he had kindof left us to wander by ourselves. Malfoy had already scared Neville and made him throw up red sparks, so I got stuck with Malfoy instead.

We kept walking.

And walking.

I had no idea how much time had passed, now. I was getting really tired.

"_Servant_ stuff," I heard Malfoy grumble.

"Malfoy will you shut up?" I shout whispered at him. He stopped and glared back at me.

"Oh right! Sure!" He snapped. "You think this is all quite normal! That that oaf should be making four first years wander about the _Forbidden_ Forest looking for a bloody, bleeding Unicorn! Oh, and nevermind what _made_ the Unicorn bleed in the first place!"

"Stop calling Hagrid an oaf," I growled, my teeth clenched. "And stop yelling like an idiot. Who knows what's out here?"

"_I_ do!" Malfoy shouted, all caution forgotten. "Werewolves, Acromantula, Trolls! Everything in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ that kills Wizards! Frequently!"

"I said shut _up_!"

"You shut up, Potter!"

We glared at each other, then set off again, shoulder to shoulder, neither of us letting the other get ahead. Fang stayed close by my leg, bumping into it on every other step. I didn't talk to Malfoy again, and he didn't talk to me. Again the only sound was our feet.

We stumbled over roots and tore our way through bushes and brambles. Our cloaks got caught on thorns and got holes torn in them. The flame in Malfoy's lantern was guttering – it was getting harder and harder to see. What were we going to do if –

_Pffft._

The lantern went out. We both froze. Malfoy messed with one of the knobs on it.

"Come on, you stupid-" He cursed frantically. The lantern clanked and squeaked. Malfoy opened one side of it and inserted his wand.

"_Incendio!_" he shouted. A burst of flame shot from his wand, but nothing lit. After a momentary flash we were still in darkness.

"I think it's out of fuel," I commented in the black.

"I know it's out of fuel, stupid!" Malfoy barked. "What do we do now?"

I raised my wand in answer.

"_Lumos._" A small white point of brightness appeared at the tip of my wand. It only had a portion of the light of the lantern, however.

"That is completely inadequate." But Malfoy pulled out his wand and lit it too.

He was right, though. The light shone in my eyes just as much as on the trees, and only lit an area of about three feet. We walked for a while, but when burn marks started showing up on my vision, I lowered my wand and muttered, '_nox._'

"What are you doing?" Malfoy demanded, pausing.

"It hurts my eyes. We'll eventually adjust to the dark," I explained. Malfoy reluctantly lowered and extinguished his wand as well. I was right. After about five minutes I was able to see the outlines of the trees, and of Malfoy and Fang. We kept walking.

After another long spell Malfoy stopped.

"We're lost."

"I know," I said.

I think he raised an eyebrow at me.

"So, Potter, what do we do?"

"I don't know. I guess…throw up red sparks?"

"…whatever." Malfoy flicked his wand skyward and red sparks shot up through the trees like a firework, lighting the trees and foliage in a bloody scarlet. It flew out of the canopy and burst like a flare, sweeping back down and fading.

We sat down and waited. I sat a little nearer to Malfoy than I normally would have done, merely so I knew where he was. I was starting to get jumpy and sleepy at the same time: not a good combination. I kept a firm grip on my wand and fought to stay awake.

We waited.

And waited.

"You don't suppose they're not coming?" Malfoy blurted.

"Don't be daft," I answered. I looked down the path where we'd come. "Hagrid had to have seen that. I mean, how high did it go?"

"….f-fifty feet? Maybe?"

"If it'll keep you quiet, throw up another one."

He glared at me.

"I'm not scared, Potter."

"Did I say that?"

He muttered something about idiots and stood up, his cloak billowing. He stepped away from the tree trunk into a clearing between, so the flare would have a chance to get through the branches. I saw him raise his wand, looking at the sky. Then he froze and looked straight ahead, at the trees, his arm still raised.

"Potter," he whispered.

"What is it, Malfoy?" I wondered. I didn't even bother getting up. I was sure it was one of his tricks, trying to do something nasty to make up for his fear. But he didn't move. He didn't even lower his arm – he left it there, wand still pointing comically to the sky like the Statue of Liberty.

"There's a-"

I got up. I sensed something, too. Something in his voice, and something about the trees. Everything had just gotten still. As still as the grave. All the hairs on my arms stood up and a thrill of energy flew down my spine.

A low growl rumbled from the trees.

"…werewolf."

A shadow burst from the silence. Malfoy screamed and thrashed out his wand. Something bright flashed and zipped across to one of the trees, missing its target, slamming into the bark with a crack.

The shadow dodged to the side, and I could see its shape, a shadow among shadows. A huge wolf, stepping with silent grace, its eyes fixed on Malfoy. I raised my wand. I didn't like him, but I didn't want to see Malfoy ripped apart in front of me, either. Maybe the wolf hadn't noticed me. But what spell could I-?"

The wolf snarled and jumped at me faster than I could blink. It slammed its paws into my chest and knocked me off my feet. I slammed backwards into the tree, then fell down, my back against it. It was on top of me, smothering me with its putrid fur.

"Gaaaa!" I yelled and closed my eyes as I felt its teeth rip into my right wrist. I screamed and screamed, thrashing, punching, kicking, trying to get the massive thing off of me.

"_Stupefy!_" Malfoy screeched, his voice cracking. A flash of red. The creature yelped and got off me. I cradled my bleeding arm and rolled away, hiding myself from view. It was like fire was running through my skin, and dull, deep points simmered in my bones where the teeth had pierced. I heard the monster snarling, footsteps, shouting, yelling. Then the creature yelped. Something lumbered away.

Silence.

"P-Potter?"

Tears ran down my cheeks. My heart was pounding so bad I thought it'd burst against my ribcage. I opened my eyes and forced all fear from my voice.

"Yeah?"

"Y-you…were…?"

I pulled myself up. My arm flared and I whimpered. I held my wrist in my left hand. My blood was like warm water on my palm. It was starting to dry and get sticky. I could feel the torn skin under my fingers. Every touch on any of the wounds screamed protest.

I managed to look at Malfoy through the haze of my pain. He was sitting in the clearing between the trees, sitting almost like I was.

"I - …It bit me," I said. Malfoy looked up at me. Even in the darkness I could see the terror and despair in his eyes.

"It bit me, too." He held out his hands. His left forearm was bloody.

VVVVVVVV

Let me know what you think! Please, please, PLEASE review!


	2. Silver

Sorry it took so long, people! I finished days ago but I couldn't upload! I managed to find a way around it, so here's chapter two, finally!

VVVVVVVV

Malfoy swore again. He was crying, still holding his wrist, all care about what I thought about him forgotten. I had gotten to my feet and walked over. His wrist was basically like mine – torn and bloody, bite marks clearly visible. I was beginning to calm down from the attack, but Malfoy, it seemed, was panicking even more.

"This is so bad. So bad…" he sobbed. I wiped my wrist with my cloak to clear away the blood so I could see how badly I'd been hurt. I was surprised. I'd bled a good bit, but it wasn't a mangled mess. A couple long gashes and five or six puncture marks. The gashes bled more easily, while the punctures were starting to turn purple.

"We're still alive, aren't we?" I said softly. Malfoy snapped his head up.

"You're a complete idiot, aren't you?" He spat. He pulled himself to his feet, holding his wrist. "Do you not understand? That was a Werewolf. A _Werewolf!_ Don't you know what that means?"

"Malfoy, we just need to worry about trying to get back to the castle. Then we can-"

"No!" Malfoy screamed. More tears ran down his cheeks. "Our lives are over!"

That stopped me.

"Over? What're you talking about?" I asked.

He stared at me.

"All right, how many werewolves do you know?" He asked. I frowned.

"None. But I don't see why-"

"NONE! You don't know any, because there _aren't_ any at Hogwarts! They're too dangerous! We'll probably be expelled for this!"

"_Expelled_?" I repeated. "Why?"

"Being a werewolf is about as low as you can be without being a squib," Malfoy choked, looking away from me. "You can't get a job, you can't be at school, you can't do anything. Nobody wants to get near someone who turns into a monster once a month."

I gaped at him.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

He glared at me.

"You would think it's stupid, Potter. You were raised by Muggle trash. You don't know anything."

"Then enlighten me," I muttered through gritted teeth.

Malfoy growled and shook his head.

"We've both been bitten. We were bitten by a werewolf. _We_ are werewolves now."

A chill ran through me. I had been so focused on the attack itself that I had blown right past that fact. Werewolf. I was a werewolf now?... _I_ was a…?

Malfoy must've seen the change in my face, because he set his jaw and nodded.

"Now you get it, don't you?"

"Not the part about everyone hating us, no," I managed. My arm throbbed. I was still bleeding, and so was Malfoy. We needed to find a way to bandage ourselves.

"Know any healing spells?" I asked quietly. After a moment Malfoy shook his head. His eyes were still wide, terrified.

"Potter, what are we going to do?"

I took off my cloak, held up a corner of it, and pointed my wand. My fingers on my injured hand were having a hard time gripping it, so I held on tightly.

"_Diffindo,_" I muttered, flicking my wrist. My cloak ripped, severing a strip of cloth along the hem, making it four inches shorter. I took it and wrapped it tightly around my bleeding wrist, then tied it in place as best I could. I winced. The fabric was rough, and irritated the wounds.

"Does that really work?" Malfoy asked. I glanced at him, bemused.

"You've… never had anything bandaged?"

Malfoy shook his head.

"No, if I ever got hurt my parents just fixed it by magic."

I tore off another piece of fabric and held it out to him.

"If you wrap it up it'll stop bleeding eventually."

He took the fabric without thanks and quickly wrapped it around his wrist. After he tied it he walked back and picked up his wand. With a flick of his wrist another set of red sparks flew up into the sky.

"What're you doing?" I asked. Malfoy didn't answer. "If Hagrid didn't see it before he won't see it now," I added. He still ignored me.

I sat down with my back against a tree, carefully holding my wrist so I didn't bump it on anything. The pain was beginning to numb.

Malfoy just stood for a long time. But eventually he sat down opposite the clearing from me, leaning against another tree.

I knew something was wrong within a half hour.

Something was wrong with my face – nothing drastic, but I felt pale, drained. It moved down until my whole body felt weak. I stayed fixed in my sitting position, not moving my head. Then I realized why: I turned slightly and a wave of dizziness almost made me swoon. Sweat dripped off the end of my nose.

Nausea welled up.

"Potter," Malfoy moaned. I looked up slowly, trying not to throw up. Malfoy was crawling towards me, to the center of the clearing. I could see his face well even in this dim light.

Because he was white as a sheet.

I heard the crunch of leaves. No, of something on the leaves. My heart leaped in my chest. My whole body shaking, I mustered every last bit of energy I had into pulling myself up to my feet. I stumbled toward Malfoy, trying to escape whatever it was, trying to escape this sick weakness.

I collapsed onto my side. Malfoy was next to me.

"What…is this?" I wondered. No one answered.

My vision turned foggy. I closed my eyes, but I felt like I was spinning when I did, so I opened them again. I craved that release of passing out, of sleep. But I knew it couldn't come.

Something moved in front of me. A pair of eyes flickered.

More shadows.

"M-malfoy…" I managed. I shoved myself to a sitting position. Malfoy was lying next to me, chest heaving, sweat pouring off his pale face, his hair disheveled. I pulled him up to a sitting position, too, and leaned my back against his. We needed to stay awake.

Werewolves.

Five of them had come out of the forest. Enormous, loping dogs, twice as big as me. They stepped into the clearing and circled us. My vision was beginning to fade. One came closer. I tried to pull out my wand, but it fumbled out of my fingers. I don't know where it went.

The werewolf paused at my movement, then came closer. It smelled me. I remember its nose was cold on my skin. It smelled, then snorted and backed away. The wolves sat down in a circle around us, watching unblinkingly.

That was the most terrifying thing of all – that they didn't want to bite us. They knew we'd been bitten already.

My stomach jolted with both nausea and understanding. That's what the sickness was. Malfoy and I were… being changed. The poison was moving through us both.

It was the worst night I've ever spent. My focus faded in and out. Every second I felt like I was going to throw up. Shivers racked me, and my breathing shallowed. After a while, my eyes drifted closed and I slipped into a nightmarish half-sleep.

VVVVVVVV

When I woke up a few hours later, the werewolves were gone. I was feeling a little better, but very weak. My legs almost wouldn't support me. I stumbled around, got my footing, then found my wand and slowly picked it up. Malfoy had drifted to the ground, lying on his side.

"Malfoy?" I asked. He didn't move. I stepped over to him, bent over, and nudged his shoulder.

He groaned and opened his eyes. At once I saw fifty things go through his head – all the memories, the crushing realization coming back again. He carefully sat up.

"You okay?" I asked, rising.

"Never mind," Malfoy grunted. He got to his feet and stowed his wand in his pocket.

It was early morning, I could tell. A fine mist clung to the forest floor, and the pale color of the English sunrise was barely glimmering through the trees to the east.

We were both quiet for a long time. We just stood there, at a loss.

"So now what?" Malfoy finally broke the silence.

I shook my head.

"I don't think they're going to find us," I finally admitted.

"Keep walking?" He asked dully.

My stomach growled.

"…Yeah."

VVVVVVVV

We set off in a random direction. The way we took was as good as any. We had no idea where we were, and no way to find out.

We were silent as we walked. As the light grew in the east I saw Malfoy was still pale. I knew I was too.

There's not much to say. We walked forever, the hours blending into neverending monotony. But underneath it all, as the light began to fade and we were almost keeling over from exhaustion and the agony in our stomachs, the panic began to rise again.

Because both of us knew that the moon is never full for only one night.

VVVVVVVV

Malfoy was in a full panic by the time the sun began to set.

"Whatdowedo, whatdowedo, whatdowedo?" He muttered. I let him freak out. It gave me something to be irritated at, and helped me keep my own fear under control.

We were still lost. More lost than ever. We were starving, and that wasn't just an expression. It was getting hard to move my legs to take new steps. Malfoy stumbled in front of me, and I knew he was feeling the same way. The sickness that had come over us last night had only made us weaker.

The trees were beginning to turn red in the sunset's light. My heart began to pound. I still couldn't grasp it, not like Malfoy probably could. Werewolf. There was nothing I could do to stop it. What would it be like? I could only imagine it, and what I was imagining wasn't good. Would it hurt?

"Malfoy-"

"Shut up!" He automatically yelled. Then he tripped and fell on his face.

"Ow! Gaaa!" He yelled and sat up on his knees. I walked around in front of him.

"You okay?" I asked. He brushed the dirt from his cheek, then wiped his eyes.

"Why would you care, Potter?" He snapped. I shook my head and looked away. I was this close to really losing it.

"Whatever, Malfoy."

We stopped walking. I don't know how much longer we could've gone anyway. I sat down with my back against a tree and let out a breath. I still felt a little sick. I absent-mindedly looked at my bandaged wrist, then decided to see how it looked. I undid the knot I had tied and carefully unwrapped the bandage. When the layer got closer to the skin I could see the dried blood on it.

But I went still when I pulled the bandage away.

"Malfoy?"

"What."

"…pull off your bandage."

He glared at me again. I swear he glares at me every time he looks at me.

"What for?"

"Just do it."

He rolled his eyes, then unrolled his bandage. Once the cloth was away he stared at his wrist for a very long time.

"Is yours-?"

"Yeah." I raised my arm so he could see. He raised his as well.

Our wounds were healed. Brutal scars remained, but they were only scars. They looked weeks old rather than a single day.

"Did… do you think it was the cloak fabric?" Malfoy murmured.

"No," I answered. "Why would there be a secret healing spell in our cloaks?"

"It was…a thought," Malfoy muttered feebly, looking away.

_More like a hope,_ I thought to myself.

VVVVVVVV

We sat stock still, waiting for the flash of silver that would seal our fates. Neither one of us moved a muscle or talked again. The tension built with every moment. It grew so horrible and terrifying that I almost wanted time to pass faster, just to get it over with. But no, time slowed. A lot.

I just started counting, beginning with one and going up from there. Seeing how far I could get before…

I lost count at around thirteen hundred. I saw Malfoy look up, his mouth trembling. I looked up and saw what he had noticed.

It was dark.

Night.

And a shimmer of white was beginning to creep along the trees in the distance.

"No, no, no!" Malfoy screamed. He scrambled behind a tree, trying to hide from it. I was frozen. I didn't know what I could do. I didn't know anything. What could I do to escape?

In that single minute I experienced enough terror and dread to turn my hair grey. But I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. I saw the lines of silver approaching like a sparkling, silent army.

Malfoy jerked, then went rigid, taking in a final gasp of air, and I knew the time had come.

My muscles seized up like I'd been hit with an electric shock. I was stiff. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. I tried to close my eyes, but couldn't. Only my heart moved. And it was pounding at a lethal sprint.

Something in my eyes moved. They enlarged – I could feel them adjusting, the irises moving, widening. It's something you'll never experience so you can't imagine how it feels.

Suddenly the night became day. I could see every detail as clear as on a summer afternoon. I could see in the dark.

I knew I now had the piercing eyes of the wolf.

My bones crunched and a beastly howl tore from my throat. I felt my spine cracking, my shoulders crunching and clicking. I heard a ripping noise as my clothes tore. The bones in my face melted and stretched into a snout. Black fur sprouted from my skin like a time-lapsed video. My teeth elongated and sharpened into fangs.

My memory of the change itself fades after the moment where my knees snapped the other way.

VVVVVVVV

_Hunger._

_ My eyes were wide. I took in every detail of the forest. But that wasn't what concerned me._

_ Smell. It told me more than my eyes ever could._

_ …there was another one._

_ He was watching me, walking sideways with lithe steps._

_ His fur was white, and glinted in the light._

_ We watched each other for a long time._

_ After a moment we each decided that each others' company was acceptable._

_ We turned and raced off into the woods together like a pair of lightning bolts._

_ Trees didn't matter - we swerved around them easily, moving so fast it was like they weren't here._

_ I was powerful. More powerful than I'd ever been. My muscles were strong, my steps sure. I didn't even need to breathe hard._

_ The white one streaked with me on my right. His gaze was focused ahead, dodging over trees, jumping over the underbrush. We both had the same goal:_

_ Food._

_ We were _very_ hungry._

_ We slowed, then froze._

_ I sniffed._

_ Deer._

_ In the clearing ten feet away._

_ I glanced at the white one. Would he try to take it from me?_

_ Or would he help?_

_ He was looking at me, too._

_ We charged._

_ The deer didn't have a chance to move. We knocked it off its feet. I choked it between my jaws until it stopped moving._

_ We gorged._

_ As I licked the blood from my teeth I savored the fullness in my belly. But nothing is ever still, not in the night. The white one and I looked at each other, then turned and ran again, leaving the bloody carcass for whatever else might want its bones._

_ We ran and trotted as we saw fit. Boundless energy filled us. I could run for eternity and never need to stop._

_ An urgency drove me from within, pushing me towards a new destination. One that I had never been to…or had I?_

_ The white one stayed with me. Neither of us led or followed. I didn't pay him much attention. If he wanted to take my same path, I wouldn't stop him._

_ The forest began to wane. I could sense something ahead through the trees. The two of us slowed to a walk, our sides heaving, our hot breath rising in clouds in front of our noses. I trotted forward and the white one followed me._

_ The trees came to an end. Beyond them was empty, open grass. And above, something massive and alive. Its many eyes glittered down at me from towering heights. I growled and backed up, trying to stay out of sight._

_ Time passed, a long time, and the creature didn't move. That puzzled me. How could it be asleep if its eyes were open? Only sleeping things were this still._

_ Or was it alive after all?_

_ The white one was moving. He trotted, following the edge of the forest, looking at the creature. I followed him._

_ Something kept me there. I didn't know what it was, or why, but I knew I had to stay there._

_ Until I knew what the creature was._

VVVVVVVV

My mind was itself again. I clambered to my feet, then froze and crouched back down. My clothes were gone. They'd been ripped to shreds when I'd transformed.

Transformed.

I remembered some of what had happened. The deer, mostly. I reached up and wiped my mouth. When I pulled it away there were flecks of red on the back of my hand.

I wanted to cry.

I almost did.

I'd eaten a deer last night.

And now I was sitting naked on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

I couldn't speak for a long time. But when the sky in the east began to lighten I knew I couldn't put it off any more.

"…Malfoy?" I called.

For a while there was no answer.

"…I'm here, Potter," came a distant answer. I stood, trying to keep myself covered with my hands, and walked. My feet got stabbed with I don't know how many sharp sticks, and my ankles were scraped by the plants I passed.

I spotted him by a tree, about forty feet from where I'd been.

"Don't look!" He yelled. There was a flash of pale skin and he hid himself behind the tree.

"Malfoy…I don't have any clothes either."

He didn't answer.

I was at a total loss. What were we going to do? The front doors were locked – we'd have to knock, and the last thing I wanted to do was to appear at the front door of Hogwarts with no clothes on, asking to be let in.

Hagrid's. He wouldn't have any clothes for us, but maybe some blankets or something.

"Malfoy, we have to go," I spoke into the silence. "The sun's coming up. People will be awake soon."

"I'm not going anywhere," Malfoy answered.

"What, you're going to live naked in the forest? Be a hermit?"

Silence.

"Come on. Hagrid's my friend. It'll be less embarrassing than going up to the castle."

"That _moron's_ the one that made this happen in the first place!" Malfoy yelled, his head popping out from behind the tree, his eyes fierce and angry. "It's his fault I'm a werewolf!"

"Malfoy, just get a grip and come on," I snapped. Keeping myself covered, I walked past him and towards the edge of the forest. After a few seconds I heard his footsteps behind me.

We made our way down the slope to Hagrid's hut, keeping ourselves covered. I've never felt more self-conscious in my entire life. You've never been truly embarrassed than to find yourself naked and there are no clothes _anywhere_.

Malfoy hid behind me when we got to the door of Hagrid's house. I raised one hand and knocked. I waited, knowing Hagrid was probably asleep, then knocked again, harder.

This time I heard movement.

"Who the bloody 'ell is wakin' me up at-"

The latch clacked and the door creaked open.

"All righ' what're you doin'-" Hagrid appeared in the door wearing an enormous nightgown made of patchwork. He froze in a look of shock as he saw us.

"HARRY!"

Hagrid flung the door open and wrapped me into a bear hug.

"We looked fer you fer hours, Harry! All day! Where were you?" He put me down, wiping the tears from his eyes, then really saw me and Malfoy.

"Why in blazes aren' you wearin' clothes?" He bellowed. He quickly strode over to his dresser, rummaged through it, and pulled out two shirts the size of circus tents and put them over our heads. I half expected Malfoy to refuse anything from Hagrid, but I guess he didn't care where the clothes came from so long as he had some.

"We'll get you taken care of, Harry, don' you worry," Hagrid said. He brought us over to his table and sat us down, then gave both of us a blanket to wrap up in. After that he brought up a fire in his fireplace.

"Now, what happened?" He demanded, sitting down across from us. He turned his beady eyes to Malfoy.

"I'll bet it has somethin' to do with _you_," he growled.

Malfoy opened his mouth in a snarl to retaliate.

"It wasn't him, Hagrid," I cut them both off.

Hagrid looked back to me.

"Well? What happened?"

I looked to Malfoy. We couldn't put it off. We had to tell everyone the truth. He swallowed and looked down, then slowly nodded. I nodded too. We both pulled up our sleeves - my right, Malfoy's left– baring our scars.

Hagrid stared at the marks, his face filled with grief and horror.

"Hagrid…it's a long story."


	3. Lucius's Letter

"Really mister Malfoy, you must calm down!"

"Calm _down_?"

We were in the hospital wing. Hagrid had taken us up to the castle, Malfoy and I still wearing his enormous shirts, and had woken Madam Pomfrey. After expertly examining our wrists, and for an odd reason our eyes, she declared that we had indeed been werewolf bitten, and admitted us to the hospital wing. She gave us a few potions and was going to keep us there to make sure we didn't develop symptoms of something she called 'saline overdose,' whatever that was.

Then she told us that our parents would be informed of what had happened.

And Malfoy was upset about that.

"You can't!" He yelled for the third time.

"Mister Malfoy, if you do not quiet down I'm going to sedate you," Madam Pomfrey warned. She looked bedraggled in her nightgown, her hair disheveled on one side from her pillow, and not in any mood to argue. But Malfoy didn't seem to care.

"Madam Pomfrey, please," he begged. "Don't tell them. Don't." I was watching him silently from the bed on his left. I'd never seen him so afraid. He was more afraid now than he had been when the full moon had begun rising.

"What do you expect me to do?" Madom Pomfrey asked, opening her hands. "It's school policy that parents be notified if their children develop any conditions, especially permanent ones. And your condition, I'm sorry to say, falls under that category."

Malfoy slammed his hand on his bedside table, sending his glass of potion crashing to the floor.

"I DON'T CARE!" He screamed.

I stared at him, shocked. I could see tears welling up in his eyes. What was he so scared of?

Madam Pomfrey just looked at him for a long while. I saw a look of pity in her eyes, only for a moment.

"Your parents will understand," she said quietly. She walked back to her office.

"No! Please!" Malfoy cried after her. She disappeared inside and shut her door. Malfoy collapsed back onto his cot, silently sobbing.

I didn't say anything to him. I adjusted my covers and turned away. I hadn't slept in two days, and I definitely had some rest coming to me.

VVVVVVVV

"Hey mate," came a familiar voice. I smiled and opened my eyes.

"Ron?" I looked up and saw his familiar grin, albeit blurry since I didn't have my glasses on.

"You're alive!" he laughed. I sat up and grabbed my glasses from my bedside table. When I put them on I found Ron and Hermione standing at my bedside.

"Oh Harry, we were so worried about you!" Hermione fussed. "What happened?" I glanced over at Malfoy. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling.

I looked back to Ron and Hermione and told them everything, beginning when Malfoy and I got lost. By the end of it they were both pale.

"So… you're…?" Ron said.

In answer I held up my scarred wrist.

"Oh," he murmured.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione said. Her eyes were wet. I put on a smile.

"Hermione, it's okay. Really."

She nodded, swallowing.

_Shhhiiing!_

We all jumped. Malfoy had pulled his curtains closed around him.

Ron was still staring at my wrist.

"Ron? You okay?" I asked. He blinked.

"Oh yeah. Sure," he said. "It's just… a lot to take in, you know?"

Eventually they left for classes, promising me they would come back once they were done. Malfoy and I didn't talk at all for the entire day. I think both of us were trying to pretend that nothing had happened; that nothing was different.

That afternoon Crabbe and Goyle came to visit Malfoy. I tried to pretend I was invisible by turning over and not looking at them, but that made me even more nervous so I just laid on my back and watched them out of the corner of my eye. They chatted for a while, but then they got to the inevitable question: what happened to him?

Malfoy didn't answer them. But the answer was plain on his wrist. It took them a couple seconds to figure out what the scars were, but when they did they jumped back, covering their mouths like they were afraid of breathing the same air as him. They practically ran out of the Hospital wing.

By evening Madam Pomfrey deemed us healthy enough to go back to our dormitories. New robes were brought for us, and we got dressed and parted ways without a word to each other.

When I got back to the Gryffindor common room I found out that Ron and Hermione hadn't told anybody about what had happened. Naturally I got swarmed right when I stepped through the portrait hole. And I really didn't think there was any point in lying.

I told them that I was a Werewolf. I told them an abbreviated version of how it all happened.

I'll never forget their faces; so many different reactions. some horror; some pity; Some had a weird sort of confusion or confliction. And those reactions, I noticed, were coming from the kids raised in Wizarding families.

People drifted away from me. It was odd to me that now people's eyes were flicking downward more often than up when they looked at me. Looking for a different scar.

Ron and Hermione gave me all of the homework I had missed – mostly a big essay for Snape about the Anti-Paralysis potion – and we all sat down in our normal spot by the fire.

Professor McGonagall visited entered the common room just as I was closing my Potions book.

"Potter, a word?" She asked, staying just by the portrait hole.

I got up and stepped over to her.

"Yes, Professor?" I asked.

"I heard about what happened. Are you all right?" She asked, looking down on me with eyes full of concern.

I slowly nodded.

"I'm okay."

She nodded in return.

"That's good to hear," she said. She straightened a little. "Potter, as you know your… new condition presents a little bit of a problem."

My insides turned to ice. Malfoy had sputtered about it, but I didn't think it would be true. Was I about to be expelled? Get sent back to the Dursleys?

"But Professor Dumbledore has allowed werewolves at Hogwarts in the past, and, particularly with the recent invention of the Wolfsbane potion, there is no reason why you cannot continue your studies just as if nothing had changed."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"What's the Wolfsbane potion?" I asked.

"It allows you to keep your human mind when you transform," Professor McGonagall answered. "In essence, it makes you safe."

"So… do I just stay in my dormitory? On those nights?" I asked.

McGonagall shook her head.

"Heavens no. We can't have a transformed, unsupervised werewolf in the dormitories even with the Wolfsbane potion. You and mister Malfoy will be somewhere else on Full-Moon nights."

"Where?"

"Tomorrow at four-thirty go to Professor Snape's office. He will tell you everything you need to know."

"Snape? Why Snape?" I blurted out.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"He's the one that makes the potion, Potter."

She left after that. I gathered up the rest of my homework and tromped up to my dormitory, leaving a mostly empty common room behind.

I changed into my pajamas and flopped onto my bed, feeling drained.

Werewolf.

Werewolf.

I was forever changed.

Again.

VVVVVVVVV

The next morning in the Great Hall I noticed there were more whispers than normal as I passed. I mean, I was used to it by now, but the whispering had gone down these last few months. And, just like last night, they were looking for a different scar when I walked by. Everybody at the Gryffindor table seemed to welcome me evenly enough, though, so I didn't let it bother me that much. I chose my normal seat next to Ron and across from Hermione.

"Hi."

"Good morning, Harry," said Hermione.

"Hey Harry," Ron said between bites of scrambled eggs.

Seamus leaned across the table.

"Hey, um, Harry?" I looked up.

"Yeah, Seamus?"

"I heard about what happened, last night, but I never got to ask – are they… well you know. Are you going to be staying… in the dormitory? When - ?"

I let out a breath.

"No. I'll be somewhere else."

Seamus looked visibly relieved.

"Ah. Good. I mean, I'm sorry that – yeah. Sorry for asking."

"It's fine."

I turned away from Seamus and looked across the hall. When I came to Hogwarts everybody had known my name. And, of course, there'd been a moment recently where most of Hogwarts had genuinely hated me. Namely for the one hundred and fifty points Ron, Neville, and I had lost for Gryffindor. But I guess the news that I was now a werewolf as a result kind of tampered that. Now all I was getting was this weird pity and awkwardness.

That's when I saw Malfoy.

The scenario at the Slytherin table was much different from mine. Apparently Crabbe and Goyle had spread the word well. Because on either side of Malfoy was a generous six foot gap that no one had sit in. It was like they were treating him as though he was contagious. He ate his food as fast as he could, shoveling it into his mouth and not looking at anyone.

I watched him for a few moments, then focused on eating my own food. I had missed a couple days of class, and things were beginning to wind down as far as finals go. I needed to keep my grades up.

After classes, feeling a little relieved that I hadn't missed that much, I took the familiar path down to the dungeons, where Snape's office was. I swallowed before knocking. Everything that had happened this year told me that I was now knocking on the door of the one who wanted the Sorcerer's Stone.

And who may have tried to kill me at the Quidditch match.

I heard footsteps off to my right. Malfoy appeared around the corner and was heading this way. I tried not to look at him. I don't know why. Something new about him was bothering me.

I knocked on the door again. This time Snape opened it, glaring down at me through the curtain of his jet-black hair.

"So, you're both here. Come in."

Malfoy and I stepped into his office. It was the last place I wanted to be in all of Hogwarts, I was sure. Shelves stacked with all manner of jars filled with floating, pickled things and sinister looking vials stood against both walls, and an ebony desk with silver accents stood in the center on the far side, facing the door. Parchment lay in organized stacks on top of it, and a black quill stood with its nib in an ink bottle.

Snape swept to his desk and sat down behind it. There were no chairs for us.

"Now, as I understand it I am to instruct you two of the new school procedure concerning werewolves, and am to add to my numerous duties the brewing of your wolfsbane potions," he drawled. "This is about as pleasurable for me as your transformations will be for you, so I shall be very brief. Hogwarts had a werewolf as a student here in 1971, before the invention of the wolfsbane potion, and so a place was created for him to be during his transformations: the shrieking shack."

Malfoy gasped.

"The shrieking shack?" He repeated, awed. "But I thought that was the most haunted place in Britain! Like, with ghosts-"

"Yes, that is exactly what everyone is supposed to think, Mister Malfoy," Snape cut him off. He rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, there is a tunnel from Hogwarts grounds to the shrieking shack, starting beneath the Whomping Willow. The Willow was put there to keep anyone from getting in and being mauled, bitten, or killed." Snape ground his teeth for a moment. "You will report to my office an hour before sunset on full moon nights to take your Wolfsbane potion. From there you will be escorted to the shrieking shack. You will receive an Owl on the morning prior to a full moon night to ensure you are not forgetful."

He pulled his quill from the ink bottle and started grading one of the papers on his desk, his bangs swinging down in front of his face. I figured that was as good as a dismissal, so I turned to go. Malfoy seemed to have gotten the same message.

"Before you leave," Snape interrupted us. Malfoy and I turned. Snape didn't look up from his paper. "I'm told by Madam Pomfrey that the week before your transformation you will become ill, similar to the effects of a strong case of influenza. She assures me that this is normal."

Malfoy and I left, again without speaking.

VVVVVVVV

"Here."

I looked up from my breakfast the next morning. The entire table did. Because Malfoy was standing on the other side of it, holding out an opened letter to me.

"What?" I asked.

"Read it." I stared at him, then looked to Ron and Hermione. Malfoy kept his eyes fixed on me. There was something behind them I couldn't really read. There was a mask. His jaw was tight.

I slowly took the letter from him and opened it. Ron tried to read it, too, but I quickly waved a hand to tell him 'no.'

Draco,

Your mother and I received Madam Pomfrey's message. Please inform her that any action she deems necessary to your health in this matter is acceptable to us. I will be enacting a full investigation into the methods of Hogwarts's discipline to ascertain how a detention of this sort was allowed, and mark my words: the appropriate people will be punished for this outrage.

As for you, I cannot express how disappointed I am that you did not manage to escape this situation. Details of your future, such as respectable marriage, elevation in society, and your employment upon graduation are now no longer matters with which you should concern yourself. I will discuss all of this with you when term is concluded.

Your Father,

Lucius Malfoy

I frowned at the letter and looked up at Malfoy.

"Why're you showing me this?" I asked.

"Because it's _your fault!_" Malfoy shouted, slamming his hands onto the table. The entire Great Hall went quiet. But Malfoy didn't seem to care. "If I hadn't been with _you_ I wouldn't have gotten lost! I wouldn't have got bitten!" He lowered his voice to a whisper and his voice cracked. "Now they hate me."

I didn't know what to say.

"Malfoy, it wasn't my-"

"_Incendio!_" Malfoy screamed, pointing his wand at the letter. It burst into flames and I dropped it. It was ashes before it even touched the table. Malfoy stormed out, his footsteps clacking in the silence as all of Hogwarts watched him leave.

VVVVVVVV

The next few weeks went by without much incident. But after a while I began to notice something. Hogwarts had changed. It wasn't anything outright – but whispers were following me down the halls again. It was like first term all over again. And I heard more than one snide comment about 'werewolf.' What made my skin crawl was that every single one of them, I knew for a fact, came from pure bloods.

What helped me, for the most part, was that my fellow Gryffindors basically didn't care. After a couple weeks they treated me just like they always did. Like I had predicted, all hatred for losing one hundred and fifty points had faded. On top of that Malfoy had lost any clout he would ever have. During every meal or study hour in the great hall he had a good ten foot gap around him where no one would sit. It almost made me feel sorry for him.

Lucius Malfoy was true to his words. He was on the Board of Governors, as Malfoy had let us known countless times, so within a few days an investigation had been launched – it was all in the _Daily Prophet_ now. Right in the front page article: POTTER – THE BOY WHO LIVED – WEREWOLF-BITTEN. Immediately, it seemed, Lucius Malfoy was trying to use this to get rid of Dumbledore. Then, when that wasn't looking promising, Hagrid. But in the end it all boiled down to who had designed the detention itself. And so, with much pomp and circumstance, or else massive amounts of cheering in the Entrance Hall as we watched, Filch was sent packing and left Hogwarts with Mrs. Norris under one arm.

Just like Snape had predicted, on the third weekend I started feeling sick. If I accelerated too fast during Qudditch practice I got queasy. If I turned my head too quickly waves of dizziness would flash through my brain. I lost all the color in my face. I could tell Malfoy was feeling the same – I could see even his little bit of color was gone as I passed him in the corridors. He was always looking down, at the floor. He wasn't bothering to slick his hair back anymore; his white-blond bangs dangled in front of his eyes, shielding them from view.

On the last day before the moon I was too dizzy to go to class. I managed to drag myself to the Hospital Wing, but Madam Pomfrey said there was nothing she could do for me. So I staggered back to my dormitory and flopped down on my covers, shadows of hot and cold waxing down my skin like sickeningly contrasting breezes.

I lay in my bed, my own sweat drenching my pajamas and running down my pale skin for the entire day. Hermione and Ron came to check on me every once in a while between classes, but I think Ron was starting to get scared of me for some reason. I guess I wasn't very good company, because eventually they let me be miserable by myself. I was grateful.

VVVVVVVV

When the sky began to turn fiery outside my window I knew it was time. I pulled myself out of my bed, got dressed in my robes, made sure to take my wand with me, and tried not to fall down the stairs.

"Hey mate," Ron called from the couch down in the common room. "You, um, goin'?"

"Yeah," I managed. Hermione was looking at me, her eyes wide with concern. She got up from the couch and came over to me, grabbing my arm and helping me walk to the portrait hole.

"Everything's going to be fine, Harry," she assured me. I nodded and swallowed.

"I can make it from here," I said, letting go of her at the portrait hole.

"See you, Harry," she said as a goodbye, wringing her hands a little. I pulled up a small smile, then pushed the portrait of the fat lady open and stepped out into the hall.

I stumbled down to the dungeons, frantically hoping that I hadn't come down too late. What would happen if the moon came up now, and I transformed right in the middle of Hogwarts? Would I kill someone? Surely not. Surely I could control myself…

My heart pounded harder.

I had eaten a deer that night. And I normally don't do that sort of thing.

What was I capable of?

VVVVVVVV

Malfoy was already there when I arrived, leaning against the wall by Snape's office, his eyes closed, his face pale. He was breathing deeply.

"Hi."

The word flew out of my mouth before I knew I'd said it. Malfoy didn't open his eyes.

"Potter," he said quietly. Then nothing else. I glanced at him, then knocked on Snape's door.

My knuckles sent a resounding clunk through the ancient wood, and then the door clicked open of its own accord. Snape was behind his desk, scratching something onto a piece of parchment with his black quill. On the side of his desk stood a cauldron, currents of steam spinning out of its mouth.

Snape didn't look up. He waved his wand and two goblets appeared on his desk.

"Fill it to the brim, drink it all," he commanded. Malfoy and I walked to his desk and did as he asked. I dipped the goblet sideways into the cauldron, filling it as much as I could, then stared apprehensively into the goblet's bowl. The potion was slimy, with gobs of who-knows-what floating around it. It had about the same consistency as watery cement.

I pinched my nose and drank it, trying not to throw it back up as I did. Malfoy made a gurgling noise behind me. It tasted worse than anything I have ever put in my mouth. Like clay and rotten carrots, with something unmentionably horrid mixed in.

Once we had both downed the awful drink Snape stood up from his desk, laying down his quill.

"Come with me," he intoned, sweeping from behind his desk and striding out of his door, leaving us in his wake.

He took us out of the castle, leading us down the paths of the grounds towards the familiar, threatening form of the Whomping Willow. A sharp wind whipped across the mountains, making our cloaks billow around us and making me shiver from the cold.

The Whomping Willow bunched up its branches like fists as we got closer, as though daring us to pick a fight. Not even slowing in stride, Snape whipped out his wand and waved it at the tree. Immediately the branches and leaves froze like stone. Snape's step quickened, and Malfoy and I had to jog to keep up. We strode right to the base of the tree. Now that I was this close I could see a hollow in the roots where you could slip through. Snape stepped confidently down into it and disappeared. I quickly followed – who knows how long the freezing spell would last? – Malfoy right behind.

As soon as Malfoy passed the roots the tree started moving again, swishing its branches, trying to catch us. Snape stood further away from us as a black figure in the dark, his robes nothing but formed shadow, his face and hand lit by his raised wand.

He turned and led us down a tunnel, the walls flat and creviced, as if river had formed them. For a long while we walked in the dark. Then the stone and moss beneath our shoes became wood. And we found ourselves at a simple wooden door with a tarnished silver handle and lock.

Snape pointed his wand at the doorknob and the door clicked open, swinging outward on its hinges with a low creak, like a tired, old voice that had been silent for years.

On the other side of the door lay a dank and dreary room covered in inches of dust, devoid of any pictures on the walls. Thousands of scratches had bored themselves into the grey wood. Bars guarded the windows, and a rickety staircase faced opposite us, leading up into the ceiling. The floor was strewn with bits and pieces of wood, stuffing, and scraps of the floral print you find on old chairs.

Malfoy and I silently entered the room, looking fearfully around, our shoes clacking on the creaky wooden floorboards and dust wafting up around our ankles.

"This is where you will be for Full-Moon nights," Snape murmured behind us. We both turned to him. He stood by the door, his glowing wand still raised, his black eyes boring into us. "Remove any clothing that you do not wish to be ruined by your transformations. One of you may use the other floor for privacy." He fixed a glare at me.

"Your minds will be your own tonight, thanks to the Wolfsbane potion, and as such any rule breaking will still be counted against you. Do not let me catch you stepping one…_paw_ outside this door, or you will dearly regret the consequences."

With that Snape left down the tunnel, and with a wave of his wand the door swung closed behind him.

Silence.

I shifted my weight on the wood and the floorboard I was standing on creaked.

I glanced at Malfoy and shrugged a little.

"Well, here we are."

Malfoy didn't look at me. He gritted his teeth and said nothing.

We waited.

Malfoy disappeared up to the second floor.

I took off all of my clothes and laid them in a pile in the corner.

And waited.

There was no way to tell time – the windows were all boarded up beyond the bars.

Then-

A shiver of power flashed through my nerves. All of my muscles stiffened.

Fire enveloped my right wrist, and the bones in my hand crunched.

My heart pounded.

The second moon was here.

VVVVVVVV

Thanks so much for your awesome reviews! Please, write more! Now that I've got the stupid site crash and spring break out of my way, I'll be much more regular with updating.


	4. The Outstretched Paw

Thanks so much for your awesome reviews!

VVVVVVVV

The crackling of bone and the twisting of flesh stopped. I was very large – larger than I was as a human. My eyes were clear and bright, and saw everything in the grey room with clearest detail. I looked down at my hands and found the paws of a wolf. I took a step forward and began to walk. It was like walking on my hands and knees, but with so much more power in my hind legs, and they were the perfect distance to the ground.

I was still me. I was still Harry. None of that blinding haze clouded my mind. No instinct threatened to overpower me.

_Thank you,_ I thought to whoever it was that had invented the Wolfsbane potion.

I trotted in a circle, getting used to my new body, the feel of the way my hair rose up and down with each step, how to use my tail for balance. I felt so powerful, so in control of my own limbs. I wanted to run, see what it could really do!

I jumped experimentally to the side, misjudged myself, and slammed into the wall.

I flopped to the floor, feeling dumb.

Something moved.

All of my senses went on alert. My ears flicked to attention and a surge of adrenaline pumped through my veins. I focused on the stairs. The movement had come from up there.

A board creaked.

A flicker of movement at the top of the steps, and then a paw appeared.

The wolf's fur was white and grey, and he slinked down the stairs with an eerie grace.

Malfoy.

_Who were you thanking?_

I froze as Malfoy's dull tone spoke in my head.

_…you can- ?_

_ I heard you, Potter, yes._

He reached the bottom of the stairs and lightly stepped onto the ground floor. He had his blue eyes fixed on me.

_So? Who?_ He asked.

_I… whoever made the potion,_ I said, still trying to figure out how we could still talk. _This is a lot better than… before._

Malfoy huffed.

_Whatever._

Malfoy looked away from me and slunk to the door. After a second he laid down in front of it.

We were quiet for a long time, two wolves sitting in an empty living room. I eventually laid down, too.

_This is terrible,_ I said after a solid hour of silence.

Malfoy didn't move, didn't answer.

_I mean, what do they expect us to do in here? Stare at the wall all night? I can't sleep. I feel too awake._

_ Whatever, scarhead._

I glared at him.

_What's your problem? _I asked. A growl rumbled in my throat. Malfoy's ears flicked back in my direction, then laid flat down against his skull.

_Think about it, Potter. Think about it really hard._

VVVVVVVV

We were quiet. Our wolf bodies stayed wide awake, so even though our human selves craved sleep, we couldn't. And it wasn't like we had brought anything to entertain ourselves. I spent a lot of time trying to think about what I could bring next time. I laughed, which sounded weird in my canine throat, about the irony of the painting of the dogs playing poker. Cards wouldn't work. …unlike the dogs in the picture, I didn't have thumbs.

I was stumped. Remove thumbs from activities, and you'll find yourself very limited. I really just wanted to run, but there was no space in the Shrieking Shack. Did Wizards make movies?

When I was just about to go crazy from boredom, a chill crept through my skin, like seeping ice water. I shivered. Malfoy made a noise by the door. I closed my eyes, realizing it must be almost daybreak…

A rash of itching lashed across my body as my fur receded. Bones in my face crunched back, forming vertical, human features. My eyes got smaller. My tail sucked back into my hips and disappeared.

After a minute the changes were complete.

I got my clothes back on – Malfoy snuck upstairs and did the same, and we crashed. All the fatigue of staying up for an entire night hit me all at once. I lay down and fell asleep in moments.

It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I heard a knock. I moaned and rolled over and opened my eyes. The door to the shrieking shack was opening. I sat up. Snape stepped in, his wand raised. After he saw that I was human, he lowered it.

"Please get mister Malfoy. I will be taking you back to the castle now."

VVVVVVV

"So, how was it?"

It was the next morning. We were having breakfast in the Great Hall. The chatter of all the students at the tables echoed pleasantly in my ears. I was thankful for it. It sounded like home, and was really helping me stay awake. I rubbed my drooping eyes.

"It was all right," I answered Hermione, forking more ham onto my plate. "Malfoy and I didn't really talk."

"Dunno why you would," Ron muttered. I glanced at him. He was staring sullenly at his plate, mulling potatoes around with his fork.

Hermione frowned at him.

"Ron? You okay?" He shook his head and bit his lip.

"Yeah." He put down his fork, then stood up, shouldering his bag of books. "I'll see you in the common room, okay?"

"Okay," I said, looking after him as I left. I was beginning to wonder about Ron. Most of the pure-bloods in the school had started looking at me funny since the night in the forest. Ron was pure-blood…

I got up.

"Where're you going?" Hermione asked, looking up at me.

"I've… gotta take care of something," I said. I picked up my books and went after Ron. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt like I needed to talk to him soon or something bad was going to happen.

I spotted Ron on the other side of the Entrance Hall.

"Ron!" I called. He stopped and turned.

"What?" He asked. I walked towards him.

"I need to talk to you," I said. I was starting to get afraid. What if Ron-

"Awooo!" Both of us looked up, towards the grand staircase. Malfoy was stepping down it, being trailed by Davies, a Ravenclaw, another Ravenclaw, and a Gryffindor I didn't know. They were howling maniacally like wolves.

"How was the moonlight last night, wolfie?"

"Yeah, did you do lots of howling?"

They trailed him down the stairs in a pack. Ron and I watched. Malfoy stared resolutely at the ground as he neared the bottom. His fists were clenched.

"Bet you had a lot of fun runnin' through the forest. How much _prey_ did you get?"

"Yeah! Meet any she-wolves you liked?"

Malfoy whirled, his teeth bared in a snarl, whipping his wand out of his pocket.

"Guys!" I shouted. They all paused and looked at me. "Guys." I strode over to them and ripped my sleeve down my arm, baring my scars. I held my wrist up.

"I'm a werewolf, too," I growled. "You make fun of Malfoy, you make fun of me." Malfoy stared at me, his mouth agape. I set my jaw. With a flick of my wrist I put my sleeve up again and turned away.

"Whatever, _wolfboy_," Davies muttered.

Ron leapt forward and slammed his fist into Davies' mouth. Davies staggered backwards, crashing into his friends.

"What the hell's the matter with you, Weasley?" he yelled, holding his mouth. Ron stepped in front of me, his ears bright red. He advanced on the other students. They backed up, visibly afraid even though they were each at least a head taller than him.

"Shut your faces, you bigots!" Ron yelled, jabbing a finger at them. "If it wasn't for him, _You-Know-Who_ would be Headmaster here! Just because he gets bit by a werewolf, you turn your backs on Harry_ Potter_?"

The Ravenclaws and the Gryffindor backed away.

"Come on," one said. And they turned and walked back up the staircase. We watched them disappear down the hall on the second floor. Ron turned around, shaking his head and grinding his teeth.

"Jerks," he muttered.

Malfoy was still staring at me. I shot him a look.

"What?"

He shook his head, staring at me like he'd just found out I was born on Jupiter.

"You make absolutely no sense, Potter." We paused, looking at each other, then unceremoniously parted. He went into the Great Hall, and Ron and I went the opposite direction.

"So, um, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Ron asked as he walked next to me down the corridor.

I smiled to myself.

"Nothing. Never mind."

VVVVVVVV

I held my head in my hands, staring dully at the yellowing book lying in between my elbows. I could barely keep my eyes open any longer. On top of not sleeping at all the night before, McGonagall had to assign a row of parchment on the _Duro_ spell, and it was taking me forever. Hermione tapped her foot impatiently on the stone floor under the table, waiting for Ron and me to finish up. Ron held his quill hovering over his parchment, a sentence half-completed, his eyes drifting closed.

"Ron, will you _please_ finish that sentence so we can go?" Hermione finally snapped. Ron jerked awake and a drop of ink dripped onto his essay, blotting out the last word he'd written.

"Bed," Hermione commanded. We both got up without complaint. Ron and I gathered up the books we'd been using, put them back on their shelves, then rolled up our essays and stuffed them into our bags.

Madam Pince immediately came over and shooed us out of the Library, attacking the chairs and table we'd been sitting at with her feather duster.

The corridors were dark, lit only by the flickering torches that didn't seem to put off very much light except for in a five-foot bubble they cast around themselves. It was almost time for lights out – we had been the last ones to leave the Library. We walked three in a row down the empty hallways, heading for Gryffindor tower.

I paused when we turned a corner and frowned. Hermione and Ron turned around.

"What?" They asked.

"I thought I heard something," I told them. I looked to my left, at a tapestry of a witch casting a spell on a tree stump. I swore I had heard movement behind it. And the bottom of the tapestry – it wasn't hanging right. I strode over and pulled it aside.

Behind the tapestry stood a secret passage, with winding stairs that led upwards into pitch darkness. And on the floor, right where the bottom of the tapestry had touched, lay Malfoy. He jumped and looked up at me, eyes wide and frightened. Then his face turned red.

"What, Potter?" He spat.

"Malfoy?" Ron asked bemusedly as he and Hermione walked over.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, incredulous.

"Nothing," Malfoy muttered, looking away.

"You're…sleeping out here?" said Ron, sounding amazed.

"What's wrong with the Slytherin common room?" Hermione pressed.

My eyes narrowed – I had a suspicion.

"I – they changed the password," said Malfoy.

"Aaaand you can't find out what it is?" said Ron with confused smile.

Malfoy's eyes lit up with fire and he glared daggers at the three of us.

"Right. They won't tell me the new password, okay?" He pulled his legs close and wrapped his arms around them, turning away. "Just leave me alone."

"Whatever," said Ron. He started walking toward Gryffindor tower again.

"Come with us," I blurted. Malfoy whipped his head to face me. I've never seen anyone look more confused. Hermione and Ron were staring at me agape.

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked. "You're not thinking of-"

"We'll get you into Gryffindor tower. You can sleep in the common room," I found myself saying.

"Harry, that's against the _founding_ rules of Hogwarts!" Hermione protested.

"What, you want to just leave him to sleep in the hall?" I shot back.

"Yeah," Ron called.

Malfoy looked back and forth between us.

"Potter," he growled, "you're the most…stupid person I know," he said through his teeth.

"And you're a pretentious jerk. Are you coming?" Malfoy pursed his lips, then slowly got to his feet, brushing the dust off of his robes.

"Fine. Even the Gryffindor hovel has got to be better than a hole in the wall."

"Don't call it a hovel until you see it," I told him.

Malfoy trailed behind us as we walked. Ron sidled up next to me, ducking his head down to whisper to me.

"What's in your head?" He murmured. I shook my head.

"I… don't really know. I just don't think it's good to just leave him out in the hallway."

"Okay, but let him in our common room? I'd bet five galleons, which I don't have, by the way, that what you're about to do hasn't happened in all of Hogwarts history."

"First time for everything, right?"

"I can hear you, you know, Weasley," Malfoy grumbled.

Eventually we came to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"I was about to go to sleep, you know," she fussed. "Password?"

"_Sig-_"

"Wait!" the Fat Lady cried. She pointed a finger at Malfoy. "He's a Slytherin! Don't let him hear the password!"

"Oh, don't mind him!" Hermione said breezily. "We cast a deafening charm on him – he's been following us around trying to get us to take it off." Hermione laughed. I stared at her. She was getting really good at lying.

"Oh! Well that's different," said the Fat Lady. "Password?"

"_Sig-_"

"Yes I know you know what it is. Hurry up. I want to go to sleep!" The portrait opened forward like a door, revealing the hole in the wall that led to Gryffindor Tower. We all stepped through.

"Why do you have a hole instead of a door?" Malfoy wondered. I frowned.

"You know, I don't really know," I admitted.

"Night Harry, Hermione," said Ron, yawning and dragging his feet up the stairs to the first years' room. Hermione bid her goodnights as well and disappeared up the opposite staircase. I was about to follow Ron, but realized that Malfoy hadn't moved since he'd entered.

"You can just sleep on one of the couches," I told him. But he didn't appear to hear me. He was staring around at the room. "What?" I asked. He blinked and looked at me.

"I never thought… this is really nice," he murmured. He slowly stepped over to one of the couches and sat down in it, then looked up at the ornate, warm-colored murals on the walls and ceiling. A dying fire still managed to flicker behind the grate. Malfoy ran a hand along the couch fabric.

"Isn't the Slytherin common room like this?"

Malfoy stared at me, then laughed.

"No." He looked down, admiring the enormous, patterned rug on the floor under his shoes. "It's a dungeon with green lanterns, and it's under the lake. Somehow light from the water shines through."

"Sounds depressing," I commented. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"Compared to this, it is."

I left him to sleep when he got used to the room, stepping up the familiar stone stairs and turning into my dormitory. After I changed into my pajamas, I pulled myself into my four-poster bed. Ron was already snoring in the bed next to mine. I really didn't understand myself. Why was I helping Malfoy at all? Why hadn't I let him sleep in the passageway? I guess that maybe that night in the forest had changed the way I'd thought about him. I'd seen many new sides of him, emerging from behind the sneering mask. As I closed my eyes, I laughed to myself. I had just broken the most ancient rule of the school: a Slytherin was sleeping in Gryffindor Tower.


	5. Serpent's Induction

Sorry for the long wait! Had to go on choir tour, and then when I got back and typed this up, error message 1 was up. Gah! But I promise, providing that fanfiction isn't stupid, I will not be going anywhere for a while; and that means updating sooner!

VVVVVVVV

The moon had come again.

Malfoy and I sat, as wolves, on the bottom floor of the shrieking shack. Malfoy lay in front of the door, always waiting for Snape's return, his white head resting on his snow-colored paws. I sat on my haunches by the stairs.

And I was about to go insane from sheer boredom.

Hermione and I had brainstormed for hours, but we couldn't come up with anything for me and Malfoy to do while we were transformed. I threw out the DVD player idea, but she told me that even if we could get a hold of one, it would go haywire around Hogwarts. Something about there being too much magic in the air.

_I'm sick of this,_ I burst out finally. Malfoy's ears flicked back at me, but otherwise he stayed motionless. I got to my feet and padded to the door. _Let's_ _get out of here_.

Malfoy lifted his head.

_What are you going on about?_

_ You can't tell me you're not going nuts in here. _Malfoy ruffled his fur and put his head back down.

_Snape said we weren't allowed to leave._

_ What, you afraid of breaking the rules? _I jabbed. He turned his yellow eyes to me with a snort.

_Are you?_

_ Fine._ _Now, come on. _I stepped closer to the door and reared onto my hind legs, putting my front paws by the doorknob. After steadying myself, I put them on either side of the handle and tried to turn it.

_You look ridiculous,_ Malfoy observed.

_I don't see you helping,_ I growled. Malfoy huffed and got to his feet. I hopped back down. We both jumped up on either side of the door handle and put our paws on the knob. After a bit of effort we turned the handle and the latch clicked open. Malfoy nudged the door wider with his nose and the old thing creaked on its hinges, giving us both enough space to slip through.

We trotted single file down the tunnel – it was too narrow to walk side by side without it feeling awkward. Malfoy led the way, his white fur easy to see even in the darkness. Eventually we came to the exit. I spied the branches of the Whomping Willow above through the hole in the roots that formed the exit.

_Snape used an Immobulus charm_, Malfoy muttered.

_But we don't have our wands._

_ Brilliant observation, Potter,_ Malfoy snipped, without looking at me. He narrowed his eyes at the innocent looking branches over his head. _It'll try to crush us when we get out in the open._

_ So, you go straight out, I'll go right_, I supplied. Malfoy paused.

_Fine._

_ Three, two, one; go._

Malfoy darted like a streak of white lightning. I flew after him. He was halfway out of danger before the Willow began to move. I skirted close to its trunk and blazed towards the forest, my legs flashing faster than I could ever move them as a human. The Willow's branches crashed behind me and thumped as they slammed into the ground, punching after me.

In only a moment we were both out of danger.

I spotted Malfoy out on the grounds, pale fur gleaming in the silver of the moon that bathed the hills and mountains around us. He stood perfectly still, his stance low like a hunter, focused on the castle. His shadows cast a deep, inky blackness on the grass beside him.

I could sense the intensity of the stillness he projected like a signal. I got low and slinked towards him, weaving back and forth along the curve of the hill, my paws only making slight rustling noises as they brushed the grass.

Malfoy's tail twitched as I approached. His ears were still, pointing forward.

_What is it?_ I asked.

_Look._

I followed his gaze; when I saw what he was looking at I dropped down.

A figure, hooded and cloaked in black robes, strode across the grounds, its eerie, smooth gait pulling itself towards the Forbidden Forest. In a few moments it would be swallowed by the trees.

Without any words we raced after it.

Malfoy and I slowed our steps as we hit the edge of the forest. Something strange was going on – I should have been able to hear the figure's walk, even at this distance, but I couldn't. After a second of thought I knew the answer: magic. Whoever it was was silencing their steps.

But… something was in the air. I sniffed. I could smell something in the woods that wasn't supposed to be there. …Garlic?

_Do you smell that?_ Malfoy asked.

_Yeah. Have you smelled it before?_

_ …I think so,_ he answered.

_We can use it to track whoever it is._

Malfoy and I stepped into the shadows.

The forest remained as bright as afternoon for us as we loped over branch and root, following the bitter smell of our quarry. I'd never felt more confident about my nose in my life. There was no way I could lose the trail, just as there was no way I could ever do anything like this in human form. Malfoy followed close on my left, a tree separating us here or there. We kept within sight of each other.

_There he is,_ Malfoy whispered. I spotted the shadow among the shadows that Malfoy had seen. The cloaked figure crouched low by a group of trees, watching in the other direction, motionless. We kept low and remained behind it, watching. We were hunting it, but it looked as though it was hunting something as well.

We waited, unmoving. The figure did the same.

Movement.

Something large and heavy shuffled in the distance. Approaching. Each step was hard – hooves. The fur on my back instinctively bristled, readying myself for a fight.

It was a full minute before the figure heard anything. It slowly rose to its full height, cloak slipping to drape across the leaf-strewn ground, then became as still as the trees around it.

We didn't move.

A magnificent, thickly muscled horse stepped into view, its white coat gleaming in the patches of moonlight that flickered through the leaves overhead. A single horn spiraled from its forehead. Not a horse; a unicorn.

A glint of metal flickered in the figure's right hand.

The unicorn paused, raising its head to look alertly in our direction.

The figure twitched. The unicorn screamed. I jerked. A knife handle now protruded from the unicorn's flank. It stumbled and fell, its hooves flailing confusedly. The figure flew at the fallen beauty like a wraith and ripped the knife from its side.

More screams and whinnies assaulted my ears. I wanted to turn, to run, but I couldn't move. My eyes were locked on the scene, as the figure knelt down and calmly slit the unicorn's throat. The unicorn fell silent and still, its limbs ceasing to struggle. Silver blood flowed from the new wounds.

The figure knelt down – without hesitation, it lowered its hooded head and began to drink the unicorn's blood.

Malfoy gagged.

The figure leapt to its feet, a wand in its right hand.

_MOVE!_

I slammed into Malfoy and the tree right next to us exploded. Shards of timber peppered my face and I closed my eyes. Another spell flew past and singed the fur on my shoulder.

_Run!_ We both shouted, and took off into the trees.

I've never run so fast in my life. We sped out o the forest in moments and flew across the grounds and back under the Willow so fast that the tree barely had time to notice us.

_All right, what was that?_

We sat down once we were in the Shrieking Shack, our flanks heaving, our heavy breaths loud against the silent walls. _Who in Hogwarts wants to drink unicorn blood? Who would be that stupid?_

_ What're you talking about?_ I asked. Malfoy growled and shook his head, his pointed ears flopping.

_You muggle-borns! You don't know anything._

_I'm not muggle born. My parents were wizards._ I glared at him.

_You were raised by muggles, so same difference,_ Malfoy snapped back. _Anyway, why do you think we've never used unicorn blood in Potions?_

_ …It's poisonous?_ I ventured.

Malfoy rolled his eyes.

_No, it makes you immortal._

I stared.

_Immortal?_ I repeated.

_Yes, but it comes with a curse. The moment you drink, it's like you're dead on your feet. Only an idiot would choose it, unless they were planning on finding another way of keeping themselves alive._

I gasped.

A single piece connected two puzzles.

_Voldemort._

Malfoy snapped his head to me.

_What?_ He asked.

I paused. Ron, Hermione, and I had been following a trail for the entire year. It pointed to something huge, something dangerous. But now Malfoy was caught up in it the same as we had been. Should I tell him what we'd discovered?

_Potter, you know something,_ Malfoy rumbled.

I took a breath.

_All right, I'll tell you. It started right at the beginning of the year, with the Gringotts break-in._

I told him everything; about the item Hagrid had withdrawn, about Snape and Fluffy, about Nicholas Flamel and the Sorcerer's Stone, and how we were certain it was here at Hogwarts, in the third floor corridor.

Malfoy was stunned.

_That's unbelievable,_ he blurted. _Everything happens to you, doesn't it?_

_ Almost, yeah,_ I agreed.

_It all makes sense. …but wait – no it doesn't._

_ What're you talking about? _I asked, confused.

_Something's not right with the story,_ he said finally. _I saw that figure coming from the castle. It can't be… You-Know-Who._

I stared.

_It came from the castle? _I repeated. _Are you sure?_

_ I _saw_ it come out of the front gate, _Malfoy insisted.

My insides turned to ice. Foreboding seeped through my skin.

_This is really bad,_ I said. _Either Voldemort's actually inside Hogwarts…_

_ Or something else is going on entirely, and you have no idea what it is,_ Malfoy finished darkly.

We debated theories for the rest of the moon, but none made any sense with this new information. There was no way to reconcile the fact that whatever was living off the unicorns was also living inside the castle. It meant… well, it meant that we could trust no one.

VVVVVVVV

In another hour we became ourselves again. We dressed and slept for a while before Snape arrived to take us back to the castle. When we arrived at Gryffindor tower, Malfoy tried to go in with me.

"Mister Malfoy, where are you going?" Snape stopped him with a frown.

"I… sleep here now. Potter offered," Malfoy answered quickly. Snape looked at Malfoy askance.

"Is there something wrong with Slytherin house?"

"They wouldn't-"

"Potter, I do not require any explanation from you. Please go to your dormitory."

I clamped my mouth shut mid-sentence and stepped back through the portrait hole. When I looked back, just before the portrait swung closed, Malfoy and Snape had stepped closer and looked to be beginning a heated discussion.

Even though I was about to drop dead from sleep deprivation, I waited for Draco in the common room, sitting in one of the comfortable chairs by the long-dead fire. Just when I was about to nod off the portrait opened and he stepped through.

"Night," he mumbled, and flopped down onto the couch.

I trundled my way up to the dormitory and slumped fully dressed onto my four-poster, not even bothering to pull the covers over me before closing my eyes and instantly drifting away.

VVVVVVVV

Ron woke me up the next morning – it seemed like only a moment later. When I got down to the common room, a crowd of Gryffindors was forming around the couch. I pushed myself past people's shoulders to the front, to find Malfoy at the center, staring dumbfounded at the items around him.

At his feet sat his trunk. Someone had brought it up in the night. Next to them lay a pile of folded shirts, vests, robes, winter cloaks, and a scarf, all bearing the red and gold of the Gryffindor insignia. Pinned to the top of the pile was a note written in a cropped script that read:

For Draco Malfoy

You have been transferred to the House of Gryffindor.

These are your new robes.

-Professor Severus Snape

VVVVVVVV

Sorry about the length! The next chapter will be much longer, and more involved!

Keep reading; and, I absolutely love your reviews!


	6. Gryffindor

All eyes turned to us in a deadly silence as the Malfoy, Ron, Hermione, and I stepped into the Great Hall. Everyone in the entire school stared right at Malfoy, following him as he walked with us to the Gryffindor table. The moment he stepped over the bench and sat down the students burst into a roar of muttering, looking frantically from Malfoy back to each other. Malfoy looked down at the table. I was watching the Slytherins. Some of them… well, the only way I would describe the way they looked is 'dangerous.'

Hermione and Ron were watching Malfoy, too. He folded his napkin in his lap and began forking sausages onto his plate, not looking at anyone.

"Guys," I began, thinking of something to distract them. "We found something last night."

Ron blinked and looked at me.

"In the shrieking shack?" he asked.

"No, in the forest," I answered.

"Harry!" Hermione protested. "You left the Shrieking Shack?"

"Obviously," Draco muttered. All three of us glanced at him.

"That's so reckless, Harry!" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, whatever. What did you find?" Ron brushed her off. I told them what happened with the mysterious figure, told them about how it came from _inside_ the castle. Told them my suspicions that it was Voldemort.

"Don't say the name!" Ron snapped. But Hermione had her head in her hands.

"This is bad. _Very_ bad."

"Firm grasp of the obvious, Granger," Malfoy growled, sitting up and glaring.

"Listen, Malfoy," Ron shot back, leaning onto the table and pointing his finger at him, "Just because you're wearing the Lion's crest doesn't mean I can't-"

"Hey!" I cut him off. They were quiet.

"Fine. Sorry," said Draco.

"Hermione?" I asked. She brushed her hair out of her face and sat up.

"Well, our last defense was Dumbledore," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked.

"Dumbledore was the only one that You-Know-Who ever feared," Hermione explained. "But if… if _He's_ inside the castle, then Dumbledore's been fooled."

"Well now I feel really safe," Ron muttered, looking worriedly around the Great Hall. "Do you think it's one of the teachers? Wearing a disguise?"

"Oh, a disguise wouldn't do it at all," Hermione chuffed. "It'd be Polyjuice potion, or something similar, for sure."

"Polyjuice potion?" Ron and I asked in unison.

"Really," Malfoy scoffed. "I don't expect Potter to know anything, but honestly Weasley, I would never guess that you were a pure-blood."

"Why? What's Polyjuice potion?" I asked.

"It's a potion that allows you to take the form of another," Hermione answered quickly.

"But… that means it could be-"

"Anyone," Draco, Ron, and Hermione finished.

Suddenly Hogwarts didn't feel very safe anymore.

Malfoy finished breakfast before us, before I'd gotten anything on my plate, even. He got to his feet and left the Great Hall without looking back.

A group of Slytherins got up from their table and moved to follow him.

"Uh oh," I murmured.

"What?" Ron asked, looking up from his plate.

"Trouble." I nodded to the Slytherins.

"What?"

"They're going after Malfoy," I said. I stood up.

"So?"

"Come on."

I got up, and they followed me.

_Sh-pmmm!_

The concussion of a spell rumbled the stone. We ran sprinted through the doors, a big chunk of the school right behind us.

"Traitor!"

Malfoy was sprawled on the ground, his wand lying ten feet away from him and his nose bloody. Three Slytherins stood over him, one big fifth year in front. They all had their wands drawn.

"You think you can just walk out of Slytherin House? Eh? Werewolf scum!"

Malfoy whirled and dove for his wand.

"_Accio!_" the wand flew through Malfoy's outstretched fingers and landed in the fifth-year's palm.

"_Expelliarmus!_" I jumped and pulled out my wand. A red spell flew over my shoulder and hit the Slytherin's fingers. Malfoy's wand soared into the air, pinwheeling like a football at a kickoff. Hermione reached up and caught it.

Forcing off my amazement at Hermione's knowledge of spells, I pointed my wand at the Slytherin. Everyone was staring at me and Hermione. I quickly stepped between him and Malfoy.

"Leave him alone," I muttered, glaring up at him. "You didn't want a werewolf in your House anyway."

"What're you gonna do?" he sneered. "Shoot sparks at me?"

"No," came Hermione. She stepped over, her robe billowing, and came to stand next to me, pointing her wand at the Slytherin's face. "I know much better spells than that."

"Same here," said Ron. He joined me. Malfoy got up behind me, and Hermione held out his wand, still looking at the Slytherin. Malfoy took it.

The Slytherin narrowed his eyes.

"Boys," he muttered. The three behind him chuckled and pulled out their wands.

"Not so fast," someone called. I looked, surprised.

"Seamus?" Seamus nodded and stepped out of the crowd, pulling his wand out of his robes.

"Gryffindor's gotta stick together, right?" He gave Malfoy a quick nod, then stood his ground between him and the Slytherins.

"Well said, Seamus." Dean Thomas stepped out to stand next to us. One by one, Gryffindors came out of the crowd, some I didn't even know, to stand in a wall in front of Malfoy, shielding him. Soon he blended into a crowd of black, red, and gold, and the Slytherins had much more to worry about than the sparks of first years.

"Forget it," he muttered, his face pale. He and the other Slytherins turned and left, striding back into the Great Hall. After a moment the Gryffindors began to disperse, eventually leaving me, Ron, Hermione, and Draco by ourselves.

Draco shook his head, looking down, and swallowed.

"Gryffindor."

I nodded.

"Gryffindor," I agreed.

"My father's going to have a fit."

I half-chuckled, not knowing whether or not that was supposed to be a joke. He looked up, giving me an imperceptible nod. Then-

"Granger, I need some help with my Transfiguration final. Are you three studying together?"

"Er, yes!" said Hermione. "We're actually studying in the Library after Charms."

"Can I come?"

"Sure," I said. Malfoy nodded, then turned and walked away, stowing his wand in his pocket.

"You know," said Ron, looking at him as he left. "I'm beginning to think he's not such a jerk anymore."

VVVVVVVV

My scar burned.

Even as the four of us studied in the darkening library, it sizzled like I had a permanent sunburn in a lightning bolt on my forehead. Sometimes it would spike and become like a red hot wire. I tried not to let it show, but Ron, Hermione, and Draco all noticed – their quills would all stop scratching simultaneously when the pain struck.

And at the same time I was about to have a nervous breakdown wondering when Voldemort was going to burst through the door and kill me.

For weeks it continued. We studied for all hours of the day and night, any time we had a break, memorizing facts and quizzing each other until we were about to either explode or pass out from exhaustion.

Draco and Hermione, amazingly enough, started getting along very well. Now that he wasn't being a total snob about it, I could tell that he was genuinely impressed by her devotion to learning about the magical world – she even knew things he didn't. The two of them would discuss theories and facts for hours, comparing their essays. And every time Madam Pince would walk up behind me I would freak out and be halfway to hitting her with a Stinging hex before I could stop myself.

That afternoon Draco got a new schedule; he was with the Gryffindors now. Of course, that meant every Potions class was two inches away from being a war zone, but we were careful to sit as far away from anyone wearing green while we were in that dungeon. Snape didn't treat Draco any differently than he had before, which I thought was weird. It was probably the first time in history that Snape had given a Gryffindor preferential treatment.

Draco had been right about his dad.

The next morning, when the owls arrived with the mail, Draco's brown eagle owl soared down and dropped a letter on his plate. There was no envelope. It was just a piece of parchment sealed with emerald wax and pressed with the Malfoy crest. Draco slowly picked it up off his plate and popped it open. He scanned the lines, then folded the letter up again.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing important," he answered. But he got up from his seat, pulling his bag over his shoulder. And as he stood, I swore there was something shining in the corner of his eye.

"I'll see you," he murmured, leaving the Great Hall.

"What's with him?" Ron asked with his mouth full of potatoes. I'd kindof learned to translate.

"Dunno," I answered. I looked at the table – Draco had accidentally left the letter behind. I glanced to the doors of the Great Hall. Malfoy was disappearing through the doors, ruffling his hair, ruining the slicked-back look that he'd spend ten minutes achieving this morning. Would he mind if I looked?

I picked it up.

Draco,

The news of your transfer to Gryffindor is the greatest blow since the news of your disease. I had thought your pride in your name would have ensured your loyalty Slytherin. No Malfoy has ever been placed in any other house since the Middle Ages. I will not have you ruining your name, or mine. Transfer back to Slytherin House immediately. Your mother and I are very disappointed in you.

"Wow. His dad's a real git," said Ron, reading over my shoulder.

"Poor Draco," Hermione murmured. "I wonder what he's going to do?"

"Well I'll bet he's not transferring back," I said, folding the letter again. "How can he, if no one will tell him the password? Not to mention they'll try to kill him in his sleep."

It was a mark of how bad things were at Hogwarts that Hermione said nothing to contradict that.

VVVVVVVV

Finals were here. I had crammed so much information in my head that I thought I was going to explode. Hermione had drilled Ron and I until three in the morning the night before, but let Draco go to bed. I have to admit it – he learns transfiguration equations a lot faster than me.

My scar attacked me constantly now, even to the point of waking me up more than once in the night. Ron and I haggardly stumbled to our finals, while Hermione and Draco looked as spry as ever. My every nerve was lit up, have in expectation of pain, half in fear that Voldemort was about to burst through the door – or worse yet, that it was Voldemort himself who was giving me this test. But even though I felt like I was on fire with worry, when we laid our quills down at the end of our last test, I couldn't help but cheer with the rest of the class.

"You know, I've always heard that Hogwarts exams were frightful!" Hermione commented cheerfully as we strode out to the grounds. "But I found them rather enjoyable."

"Speak for yourself," Ron grumbled.

My scar flared and I grunted, putting a hand to my forehead.

"What's up with you?" Draco asked.

"My scar. It keeps burning," I answered. He frowned.

"It… burns? Why?"

"It's happened before," Hermione explained.

"Not like this. It's almost constant," I said, shaking my head.

"What does… burning mean?" Draco asked, confused.

"Maybe you should see the nurse?" Ron suggested.

"I don't think there's anything she can do. I think it's a warning. It means danger's coming."

Just then I heard the sound of music echoing across the grounds. Hagrid was sitting outside his house, playing lightly on a small wooden flute.

I stopped dead.

Something clicked.

Another piece of the puzzle!

"Of course!" I shouted.

"What?" Ron, Hermione and Draco asked in unison, looking back at me. I started striding towards Hagrid's house.

"Did you ever think it strange that there's nothing more in the world that Hagrid wants besides a Dragon, and then a stranger in a pub happens to have one? I mean, how many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pocket? Why didn't I see it before?"

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione called after me. The three of them caught up to me and I started jogging.

"Why are we going to that oaf's-" Draco began.

"_Oaf_?" Ron said threateningly.

"Sorry. Habit," said Draco.

"Hagrid!" I shouted as we came to a stop in front of him. Hagrid looked up at us, puzzled.

"Hagrid, what did the stranger look like? The one who gave you the dragon egg?"

"I dunno. He kept his hood up," Hagrid said nonchalantly. We looked at each other. "Aw, you don' understand. Yeh get all kind of folk like tha' in the Hog's head."

"This stranger, though," I pressed. "What did you talk about?"

"Well, he asked me about wha' kind of animals I looked after, just teh make sure I could take care of a dragon, but I told him after, eh…" He glanced furtively at Draco. "I kin assume yeh told him about fluffy, yeah?"

"Fluffy?" Draco asked, confused.

"The three headed dog," Ron supplied.

"Ah. The Cerberean you're keeping in the corridor to guard the Sorcerer's-"

"SHH!" Hagrid cut him off. "Yer not supposed teh know tha' in the first place!" He grumbled and adjusted himself on the tree stump he was sitting on. "Anyway, I told 'im after Fluffy, a dragon's gonna be no problem. The trick with any animal is to know how to calm 'em! Take fluffy for example!" Hagrid continued brightly. "Just play 'im a big o' music and he falls straight to sleep!"

We stared openmouthed at him. Hagrid stared, shocked at what he'd just said. The four of us took off back to Hogwarts at lightning speed, ignoring Hagrid's shouts after us.

"Where are we going?" Ron yelled as we ran to the front doors.

"Dumbledore!" Hermione said. "We have to warn Dumbledore!"

"But where's Dumbledore?" I shouted as we burst into the Entrance Hall.

"I know the way!" Draco answered. "I came with my father once!"

Draco took the lead, taking us up the grand staircase, and up a few more until we arrived at a part of the castle I'd never been in before. We rounded a corner and at the other end stood an enormous golden statue of a bird pulled into a niche in the wall. We came to a stop in front of it.

"This is it?" Ron asked, bending over and grabbing his knees. All of our heavy breaths echoed off the stone.

"I – there's a password to get in, I think." Draco pounded his forehead. "But I can't remember it.

"They've probably changed it by now, anyway," Hermione said worriedly, examining the statue.

"What are you children doing?"

We all jumped and turned. Professor McGonagall was striding toward us, holding a stack of books under one arm.

We glanced furtively at one another. I could practically hear the question in Hermione's eyes. _Can we trust her?_

I eventually nodded.

"Well? What are you doing?" She repeated, coming to stand before us.

"We need to see Dumbledore. Immediately," I answered. Professor McGonagall frowned.

"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here."

Our jaws dropped.

"Not here? Why?" Ron demanded.

"He received an urgent Owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London. Now, I'm sure that whatever you're worried about can be handled by-"

"This is _important!_" I protested. "This is about the Sorcerer's Stone!"

Whatever she had expected, it wasn't that. Her books tumbled to the floor, forgotten.

"H-how do you know about the Stone?" she marveled.

"Someone's going to try to steal it!" I continued. Professor McGonagall looked very flustered. With a wave of her wand, her books flew back into her arms.

"I don't know how you four found out about the stone, but I assure you that it is very well protected," She managed. "Now please go to your dormitories. Quietly."

We had no choice after that. We stumped back down the hall, away from the golden statue.

"There's only one person that could have been under that cloak in the Hog's Head," I muttered. "Snape." We gathered in a circle. "He's the one after the Stone. And with Fluffy out of the way, he knows how to get past all the other enchantments."

"And with Dumbledore gone-" Hermione began ominously.

"Well, well." A slithering voice approached behind her. Snape stepped up, his black robes flowing like shadows. "What are you four doing inside…on an afternoon like this?"

"Well, Professor…" Draco began.

"W-we were-" Hermione tried to finish.

"You'd better be careful," Snape warned. "People'll think you're…" he turned to look directly at me. "Up to something." He slowly turned away and swept down the hall.

"_Now _what do we do?" Hermione muttered.

"It's tonight. I know it. He's going for the stone. And we're going to stop him."

"Tonight?" Hermione gasped. "But Harry, don't you know what tonight is?"

VVVVVVVVV

Cliffhanger! HAHAHAHAHA I'm so evil. Deal with it. Now you _have _to stay tuned for the next chapter!


	7. The Wolf Medallion

Here we go! Sorry it took so long, folks. Finals and things kindof got the best of me.

VVVVVVVV

We snuck out at night after everyone went to bed. I, Ron, Hermione, and Draco tried to fit underneath the invisibility cloak, but it was simply too small for four people to walk under without our feet being seen.

"I'll just go it alone," Draco suggested. "You know, the old-fashioned way. Hide behind tapestries and things."

"Works," I said with a nod, and, after pulling the invisibility cloak over myself, Ron, and Hermione, we stepped out of the portrait hole.

Draco stayed behind us, so we could give him some warning in case someone was coming. But it seemed like fate was with us tonight – we didn't meet a single person, not even a ghost, as the four of us headed to the third floor.

"We have to hurry," Hermione muttered next to me. "We have to try to stop Snape before-"

"Don't remind me," Draco and I said in unison. But Hermione had us prepared for the worst, just in case. We'd gone down to Snape's office early and taken our Wolfsbane potions. We had to make sure that we were ourselves, tonight most of all. I knew from personal experience that without it I would kill Ron or Hermione without any reservation if I didn't have the potion in me.

We crept up the moving staircase until we reached the third floor. Hermione poked her wand out of the invisibility cloak.

"_Alohomora!_" she whispered.

"That just looked really weird," said Malfoy from behind us. "Your arm was floating by itself-"

"Shh!"

She wrapped her fingers around the handle and pulled. The ancient door creaked open on its grimy hinges.

We stared at the room beyond, aghast. The tinkling some stringed instrument reached our ears.

"Wait a minute!" I whispered. I pulled the invisibility cloak off of me.

"Why is it already asleep?" Ron demanded, rolling the cloak up in his arms.

"The harp," said Draco, pointing. He was right. On the far right a full-sized, golden harp plucked its own strings, playing a random melody. And next to it lay Fluffy, Hagrid's enormous three-headed dog, flat on its stomach, its heads laying on its paws and its tongues flopped out. It was completely knocked out.

"Snape's already been here," Hermione concluded gravely. "He's put a spell on the harp.

"Where's the trapdoor?" Draco pressed.

"There… under it's paw," I answered.

VVVVVVVV

Oh, no.

"Harry!"

"Draco!"

I desperately tried to stay on my square. That was my only thought. I laid down as my muscles rippled, my bones crunched.

The moon had risen.

Draco was across the game board, in the position of a knight, writhing as his form began to change.

I lost track of my own thoughts after that.

But soon the finishing touches began to arrive. Fur sprouted across my skin. My fingers crunched in on themselves and became paws. My tail sprouted.

"That… looked bloody awful," Ron gasped, his face white.

"Oh Harry," Hermione wailed, her eyes wet.

_I'm fine, _I assured her, then remembered that she couldn't hear me.

_Don't worry about me, I'm fine, too. _Draco growled, getting to his feet.

"I – er…. Ron closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to think. "Well, we knew this was going to happen. What… what was I about to do?"

"I… Harry? Oh, right. You can't talk. Erm…" Hermione wandered from one foot to the other, biting her lip. "Just… think of a new move, Ron."

Ron let out a shaky breath.

"I'll try." He quickly looked around at all of the pieces.

We were on McGonagall's enchanted chess set. We had to play Wizard's chess and win to get into the next room, to get either to another puzzle or to the Sorcerer's Stone itself.

And the other side was very good.

Their queen was a menace – she'd taken out half of our troops and Ron had barely managed to keep all of us alive. I was no good at chess, so I didn't help, but Draco had been an excellent help. He'd saved us more than once.

Now Draco couldn't talk to anyone but me.

And Ron had just watched us transform, and looked like he might throw up.

He scanned the board, analyzing all of the pieces. He growled in his throat and shook his head.

"I don't have a choice. There's only one way. I've got to be taken."

I snarled in shock.

"What's going on?" Hermione demanded.

"When I make my move, the Queen'll take me. Then Harry's free to check the King."

"No, you can't do that!"

Draco growled his agreement, shaking his head.

"That's chess!" Ron cried. "You have to make sacrifices! Do you want to stop Snape from getting that stone or not?" He looked at me. "Harry, it's you that has to go on. You." I saw Draco staring at him fixedly. I can't read wolf expressions very well, but if I had to guess, he was looking at Ron with something like amazement.

After a moment I nodded. Ron looked forward and his jaw tightened. He stepped two squares forward and one square to the left.

"Check," he managed. I could see the sweat rolling off of his cheek from here. He shook as the queen strode towards him.

She raised a marble arm and crashed it down onto his skull.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed. I barked and snarled in surprise and anger. Ron toppled and lay still.

Movement!

My eyes flashed to Hermione again. In an infinite millisecond I realized she was about to run to Ron.

Draco and I both jumped to wide stances and barked at her. She froze. When I was sure she wasn't going to move, I stepped diagonally across the chessboard until I was two spaces away from the king.

_Checkmate,_ I said, glaring up at him.

The king's sword fell from his hands and slammed to the floor with an almighty clatter that roared through the cavernous room.

I immediately jumped over to Ron. Draco and Hermione weren't far behind me. Hermione knelt next to him and examined his head.

"I think he's just knocked out," she said after a moment. She looked at me and Draco, her eyes full of panic. "What are we going to do now? We can't just leave him here!"

As best I could, I pointed to Draco with my paw, then waved my head to the side of the room that we'd just conquered – the door that lay beyond.

"You'll go ahead? With Draco?" She asked, uncertain. Draco gave me a furtive look, then nodded. I pointed at Hermione again, then at Ron, then at the way back.

"I… take Ron back," she repeated, nodding. We both nodded again. I began to turn. Draco turned to follow me. I may have been afraid of Snape when I was human, but Draco and I were fast, strong, and deadly now. I wasn't very-

Hermione grabbed my tail. I jerked and looked back at her.

"Sorry," she said. "Harry, Draco? Be careful." We both nodded, then faced the doorway beyond the chess pieces and strode toward it.

VVVVVVVV

We struggled to open the door for a few moments, and by the time we managed to turn the knob Hermione had dragged Ron out of the room, back the way we'd come.

On the other side of the doorway we found a long, dark corridor lined with pillars and flaming torches. The dim flames cast flickering shadows like half-formed ghosts on the stonework. We stepped forward, side by side, our paws silent.

After a solid minute of quiet, we both stopped. A voice. We didn't even have to look at each other to know we'd heard it.

_I'll take the left, you take the right,_ I suggested.

_Fair enough,_ Draco answered. We slunk off and pressed close to the opposite walls, keeping low.

The tunnel opened into a massive square chamber lit by hundreds of torches. The whole room glowed gold. In the center stood – the Mirror of Erised.

And in front of it was not Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

It was Quirrell.

He was impossible to miss – his black, flowing robe and his ridiculous purple turban.

The unfortunate thing about mirrors, for us, anyway, is that it allows people you're stalking to see _behind _them.

Thus, Quirrell turned around with a smirk.

_You?_ I demanded automatically.

A shadowy cackle whispered through the chamber. Yet no one's mouth had moved.

"I finally get a rematch," Quirrell murmured with a grin.

_He's not stuttering,_ Draco observed.

_I noticed._

_ Careful. He's going for his wand. _And indeed, Quirrell's wand had begun to appear, sliding out of his sleeve and into his right hand. He raised it with a flick of his wrist-

_"Wait!"_

Quirrell froze. We all did. His lips had half-formed the spell.

"_Let me speak to them,_" I looked around. There was another voice in this room. The voice that had laughed. But where –

Quirrell looked incredulous. He lowered his wand.

"Master, they are Werewolves. And besides, you are not strong enough!"

"_I have strength enough for this._"

A shiver ran down my spine.

_Harry, what do we do? _Draco wondered. I had no answer.

But Quirrell began unwrapping his purple turban. Circle by circle, it decreased in size. It almost looked funny. I'd gotten so used to seeing Quirrell with a turban on that his head looked far too thin.

But then –

Such fear and revulsion I've never known.

Quirrell pulled the last piece of cloth away. And in the mirror, reflected by the glimmer of the torchlight, a pale face with slits for nostrils and eyes like a cat's protruded from the back of Quirrell's head like a parasitic growth.

"_Harry Potter,_" the face whispered, its mouth spreading into a serpentine grin.

_Lord Voldemort, _I murmured back.

_L-lord….? _Draco breathed. He stumbled on his feet, like he was dizzy.

"_Yes,_" Voldemort whispered. "_See what I've become? See what I must do to survive? Live off another, a mere parasite!_"

_How? I thought Snape - ?_

"_Oh no, Quirrell was the one who found me. He allowed me to share his body, killed the unicorns in the forest to sustain me. Severus… has not been as I thought._"

Draco made a choking noise in his throat, and it was that moment that Voldemort realized that I was not the only one here. He frowned, intrigued.

"_Who is this?_" He wondered.

_D-Draco Malfoy,_ Draco whispered. He sat down, looking faint.

"_Ah, Malfoy… such a familiar name…_" Voldemort murred. Then his eyes narrowed. "_But why are you with Potter? Have you forsaken your own family for the one who tried to destroy me?_"

_I'm… a Gryffindor._

Voldemort rolled his eyes and looked back at me. That gaze was like ice – it was a relief to be out from under it, and terrifying at even the slightest glance. And he was staring at me.

"_Tell me, Potter. Why – How could a little baby destroy me? Do you know? And… who has shown you the Wizarding world? Whose side are you on? The side of power, or the side of…._" He smirked. "_failure?_"

_You killed my mum and dad,_ I growled.

"_Help me get the stone, boy, and I can bring them back._"

That stopped me dead.

_What did you just say? _I demanded. Voldemort raised his eyebrows and smiled nonchalantly.

"_I am the greatest wizard of all ages, Potter. Even a backfired curse, an explosion, my own body destroyed, could not kill me. I do believe it is within my power to grant you a small favor. In exchange for loyalty."_

I was frozen solid. My parents. My _parents_. Voldemort could bring my parents back? Was it possible? I couldn't resist – no more Dursleys. No more loneliness. We could find a new house close to Ron's. We could visit every day. Everything would be perfect! And just for helping Voldemort-

_Harry._

My eyes widened. I turned and found Drano's blue eyes fixed on me.

_He's lying._

Rage.

All of that happiness, that blind hope, torn away like stitches ripped from a newly sewn wound.

"_KILL THEM!_" Voldemort screeched.

Quirrell's wand slashed forward.

_Go!_ I shouted. Malfoy and I jumped in opposite directions and the top of the stairs blew to pieces. Dust clouded the room. Quirrell stood in the center as the two of us sprinted, his spells flying, sending stones erupting and shrapnel slamming into my fur. Shards of pain stabbed into my shoulder but I kept running.

_Go in! _Malfoy yelled. I turned and leapt right at Quirrell. He raised his wand with a laugh.

Malfoy came in from behind and slammed into his knees, knocking his feet out from underneath him and sending him sprawling.

A white flash and a concussion rippled through the room, nearly shattering my eardrums. Draco yelped and stumbled away, then flopped to the ground. Quirrell had swung wildly and hit him with a spell.

Quirrell rolled over, wand in hand, and pointed it at Draco. I did the only thing I could: I leapt onto Quirrell's back and bit his wand arm.

"AAAGGGH!" He screeched as my fangs sunk into his flesh. But the moment the roof of my mouth touched his skin, my scar burst out in agony. I yelped and let go. Quirrell sobbed and grabbed his arm, then snatched his wand again, rolling onto his back and raising it to curse me. I snapped out of my daze of pain and lunged, snapping his wand in half with a snap of my jaws. He grasped my throat with an iron grip. I gurgled, my windpipe squeezed shut.

My scar burned like someone had placed a hot wire to my head. A canine scream burst from my throat without my knowledge and my pain filtered the outside world into a haze of red. My eyes fluttered and everything spun. Quirrell screamed.

"My hand! My hand!"

A snarl. He screamed again. I flopped hard onto the stone, cracking my head. I heard the noise of my bones hitting the rock, like a tin can on cement. A flurry of white fur and waving arms thrashed in a corner of my vision, then went still. A pale form stepped over to me. Red spots dappled across its surface like ink splatter.

_Harry,_ it murmured. My vision was beginning to clear, if only for a moment. I lifted my head. Draco stood over me, his mouth, chest, and paws splattered with blood.

_You…? _I wondered, amazed.

_I - … yeah._

Movement.

A twisting pillar of smoke rose up behind Draco. My eyes widened, and he saw where I was looking. He whirled, growling. But the growl quickly stopped.

Above us floated a towering, spectral form of smoke, with a face like a snake. It looked down at me with smoky eyes full of hatred and rage. The spirit screeched and flew right at us!

I couldn't move.

VVVVVVVV

When I woke up, everything was blurry. How strange.

When I hit my head – did I have brain damage?

No, wait. Glasses.

I reached over to the nightstand, picked them up, and slid them onto my face.

Ah, good. My eyes still work.

I was in the Hospital Wing.

I quickly sat up. The Hospital Wing was a long, mostly white room with rows of empty beds lined up with their headboards against either wall and a row in between. At the foot of my bed sat a small table piled a foot high with… gifts? All manner of wizard sweets and 'get well soon' cards.

Next to my bed sat Malfoy. His left arm was in a sling.

"You're awake," he said quietly. He smiled. I tried to sit up, but a rash of prickling pain rocketed up and down my spine. So I settled for propping myself up on my pillows.

"What happened?" I asked. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days," Draco answered. I gaped.

"Two _days?_" I repeated, aghast.

"Madam Pomfrey said that she was about tell Professor Dumbledore you were in a coma," he said with a slight chuckle.

"All right, but what _happened?_" I gasped, remembering. "The stone. _Where's the stone?_"

"Relax," Malfoy reassured, raising his hands. "Quirrell didn't get it. Dumbledore told me-"

"Dumbledore was here?"

"_Yes._ Now, stop interrupting. He told me that the stone has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? But what about Nicholas Flamel?" I asked.

"Dunno," Draco answered. "He said something about that, but I really didn't understand."

I was quiet for a moment. I waved a hand to the pile of food and cards at the foot of my bed.

"What's all this?"

"Oh, people have been leaving gifts."

"Like, students?"

"Oh, yeah. Apparently what happened with Quirrell was a complete secret," Malfoy grinned. "So, naturally, the whole school knows."

I laughed.

But a memory came to me. A white wolf dotted with red.

"Draco."

"Yeah?"

"Did you…? I mean: Quirrell. Did you?" Malfoy looked down. His fingers intertwined.

"I'll live with it."

We were quiet for a long time. Then Draco brightened a little.

"Which reminds me – random students weren't the only ones leaving things."

"Really? Who?" I asked. Draco stood and stepped over to the pile. After a moment of shuffling through the packages, he pulled one out. It was a black, wooden case, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He held it out to me, and I took it. After a moment, puzzled at what could be inside, I lifted the lid.

On black felt lay a silver crescent inlaid with stars, and from its center the head of a howling wolf. I pulled it from the case. A black string hung from two loops – one at the top and one at the bottom. It was a bracelet.

"Is this from you?" I asked, looking up. The corners of Draco's mouth twitched. In answer he held out the arm that was in a sling, pulling it back to bare his wrist. An identical medallion, one of gold, was tied to his left wrist, bound directly over the white lines that marked him as a Werewolf. I put my medallion on my right wrist, over my own scars. No words were needed between us.

"Harry!"

I jumped with a laugh as Ron and Hermione burst into the room. They both hugged me, then hugged Draco as well. Then they took up empty beds by us and demanded to know everything that had really happened after they'd left. I told them, Draco helping me out with some details. Hermione and Ron were a wonderful audience, and gasped in all the right places.

VVVVVVVV

I would never, ever forget tonight.

The night that Dumbledore awarded me, Ron, Hermione, and Draco enough points to bring Gryffindor from last place to first. The night that the flags above the tables flickered from the sign of the Snake to the sign of the Lion. Werewolves had gone from disgrace to honor. The four of us were heroes, the stuff of Hogwarts legend. We would always be friends, and we would never forget that night.

Term ended. We all rode the train back in the same car, playing Exploding Snap and talking about what we were going to do over the summer.

It was when we got to platform nine and three quarters that it really hit me: I was going back for another summer with the Dursleys. Last summer I was a completely ordinary kid. Now I was on my way to being a _Wizard_, and-

"Oh, no!" I shouted, freezing just a few feet before stepping back through the barrier. Ron, Hermione, and Draco stopped next to me, pulling their luggage racks to a stop.

"What is it?" Ron asked. I looked to them, eyes wide.

"I just realized – what am I going to do during the full moon if I'm at the Dursleys?"

VVVVVVVV

Obviously, it's not done, folks! This story's just getting started!


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